# CVE-2016-6340: Weak cryptography in n/a

> Red Hat QuickStart Cloud Installer uses weak MD5 hashing for passwords, allowing attackers to easily recover cleartext credentials via brute-force attacks.

- **Severity:** High 8.4 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Sep 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5wm4-6f29-62vw

## What is CVE-2016-6340?

CVE-2016-6340 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Sep 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The kickstart file in Red Hat QuickStart Cloud Installer (QCI) forces use of MD5 passwords on deployed systems, which makes it easier for attackers to determine cleartext passwords via a brute-force attack.

Weakness: CWE-254

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-6340?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Redhat Quickstart Cloud Installer.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-6340?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-6340 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-6340 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6340 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2016-5411](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5411/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-6322](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6322/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2016-7060](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7060/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 4.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-6340 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-6340 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Sep 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6340 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6340/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6340/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6340
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6340
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-6340

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6340/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.